28. What do you know about the Magna Carta?

The Great Charter of Liberties is an 800 year old medieval document and Europe’s first documented constitution.In 1215 king John “Lackland” forced to sign The Great Charter, which defined the role of the barons in government, limited royal powers and set out the spheres of power of the English Church. Its primary statement was to declare that everyone, even the king, had to obey the law.

The original charters were written in Medieval Latin on parchment sheets using quill pens. Magna Carta contained 63 articles most of which reminded the King that there were certain limitations to his power. Some of them granted the church freedom from royal interference. A few articles guaranteed the rights of the rising middle class of the towns. Also were mentioned the rights of merchants, and weights and measures. Ordinary freemen and peasants were hardly mentioned in the charter.

The Great Charter has become one of the most important documents in the world and a powerful symbol of people’s rights and freedoms from oppression. Perhaps, the most significant influence of Magna Carta today is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

29. How did King Edward I manage to impose English rule on Wales? What is Caernarfon Castle famous for?

Edward I, also known as Edward Longshanks, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. He was temperamental and this, along with his height, made him an intimidating man and he often instilled fear in his contemporaries. Nevertheless, he held the respect of his subjects for the way in which he embodied the medieval ideal of kingship, both as a soldier, administrator and a man of faith.

During his reign a crisis happened over the succession to the Scottish throne. The Scottish magnates made a request to Edward to arbitrate in the dispute of the claimants. A decision was made in favour of John Balliol on 17 November 1292. Even after Balliol's accession, Edward still continued to assert his authority over Scotland. The final straw was Edward's demand that the Scottish magnates provide military service in the war against France. This was unacceptable; the Scots instead formed an alliance with France and rebelled. Edward responded by invading Scotland in 1296. Scottish resistance was effectively crushed. Edward confiscated the Stone of Destiny – the Scottish coronation stone– and brought it to Westminster, deposed Balliol and placed him in the Tower of London, and installed Englishmen to govern the country. But resistance soon emerged under the leadership of William Wallace, a norman-scottish knight, and later by Robert Bruce.

Edward had a highly ambitious plan to conquer the whole of Britain. After suppressing a minor rebellion in Wales in 1276–77 when Prince of Wales refused to do homage to Edward, Edward responded to a second rebellion in 1282–83 with a full-scale war of conquest. He had a skillful host and he himself was an excellent warrior, so after a successful campaign, Edward subjected Wales to English rule, built a series of castles and towns in the countryside and settled them with Englishmen. Among the castles was Caernarfon Castle. According to a famous legend, to impose his authority on Wales, the king had promised the Welsh that they would be ruled by "a prince born in Wales, who did not speak a word of English", and then produced his infant son, future Edward 2, invested as Prince of Wales to their surprise. Since 1301, the eldest son of the English monarch is made Prince of Wales in Caernarfon Castle.